#410 - The Social Genome: A Dialogue with Dalton Conley

Converging Dialogues

#Science #Social Sciences #Xavier Bonilla

6:55

In this episode, we uncover the grim details of the Bag Murders, the systemic failures that allowed the killer to evade justice for years.

about a year ago 1:24:58

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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Dalton Conley about the social genome. They discuss the nature/nurture debate, polygenic index (PGI), and ethics of PGI and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) studies. They give some critiques of The Bell Curve, three major Gene-Environmental interactions (active, passive, reactive), epigenetics, the social genome, and many more topics.

Dalton Conley is a sociologist and professor of sociology at Princeton University. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and faculty affiliate at the New York Genome Center. He has his Bachelors from the University of California-Berkeley, MPA in Public Policy and PhD in Sociology from Columbia University as well as a Masters and PhD in Biology from New York University.

His research has focused on the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic and health status from parents to children, the impact of parental wealth in explaining racial attainment gaps; the causal impact of birthweight on later health and educational outcomes; sibling differences that appear to reflect the triumph of achievement over ascription; and, finally, genetics as a driver of both social mobility and reproduction.

He has been the recipient of Guggenheim, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Russell Sage Foundation fellowships as well as a CAREER Award and the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of numerous books including the most book, The Social Genome: The New Science of Nature and Nurture.

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430 episodes

#410 - The Social Genome: A Dialogue with Dalton Conley

Converging Dialogues

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published about a year ago

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430 episodes

#Science #Social Sciences #Xavier Bonilla

All episodes

1
#430 - The Rise and Spread of Mass Education: A Dialogue with Agustina Paglayan 1:44:28

1 day ago1:44:28

1:44:28

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Agustina Paglayan about mass education around the world. They discuss education as a tool for political and social order, theories of education, and explicit aims of government education. They also talk about early critical thinking, nationalism, and education worldwide. They discuss mass education and violence, indoctrination, curriculums, teachers and quality education, and many more topics. Agustina S. Paglayan is a political science and public policy professor at the University of California, San Diego, and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development. She is an expert in the interplay between politics and education. She holds a PhD in political science from Stanford University, an MA in education policy (Stanford), an MPP (Georgetown University) and a Licenciatura en Economia (Universidad de San Andres, Argentina). During 2020-21, she served as the Founding President of the Education Politics and Policy Section within the American Political Science Association. Her research has received numerous awards from the American Political Science Association for deepening our understanding of democracy, autocracy, political economy, political history, public policy, and labor politics. She has consulted for the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Her findings have been featured in The Economist , NPR, the Washington Post , and other media. She is the author of the new book, Raised to Obey: The Rise and Spread of Mass Education. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#429 - Translation Multiples: A Dialogue with Kasia Szymanska 1:16:12

5 days ago1:16:12

1:16:12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kasia Szymanska about translation of texts. They discuss how many translations can diverge from one source, translating into English, post-1989 Poland and translation, ethics of translation, the poem VIA, A Clockwork Orange translations, and many more topics. Kasia Szymanska is Lecturer in translations studies at the University of Manchester. Her research is in translation and comparative literature, literary translation, translation politics, and multilingual writing — especially with reference to the East European context. Her work to date has appeared in, among others, PMLA , Contemporary Literature , Slavic and East European Journal , the volume Prismatic Translation and other books on the intersection between translation, literature, and politics. She was named the 2022 Martha Cheung Award winner for the best English article in Translation Studies by an early career scholar. She hold a BA/MA from the University of Warsaw, MPhil in European Literature and Culture from the University of Cambridge, and a DPhil in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. She is the author of the latest book, Translation Multiples: From Global Culture to Post-Communist Democracy . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#428 - Iran's Grand Political Strategy: A Dialogue with Vali Nasr 1:43:55

9 days ago1:43:55

1:43:55

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Vali Nasr about the recent political history of Iran. They give an overview of Iran’s political motives and strategy, impact of the Persian empire and Shia Islam, and Reza Khan and Iranian nationalism. They talk about the impact of “Kemalism,” the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, rise of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s relationship with Syria, Nuclear power, future of Iran, and many more topics. Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He served as the eighth Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS between 2012 and 2019 and served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke between 2009 and 2011. He received his BA from Tufts University in International Relations summa cum laude and was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa in 1983. He earned his master's from the Fletcher School of Law in and Diplomacy in international economics and Middle East studies in 1984, and his PhD from MIT in political science in 1991. He serves as the co-director of the SAIS Rethinking Iran Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, the leading hub for fostering a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of contemporary Iran and its regional influence within academia and the public sphere. He is a member of the International Board of Advisors of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, the International Board of Advisors at the American University of Beirut, the Global Board of Trustees of Asia Society, and he is on the Board of Advisors of Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He has been the recipient of grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council, and was named a 2006 Carnegie Scholar, and holds the 2024-25 Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. He has advised senior American policymakers, world leaders, and businesses, including the President, Secretary of State, senior members of the Congress, and presidential campaigns. He has written for New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#427 - A History of the Irish Famine: A Dialogue with Padraic Scanlan 1:12:32

12 days ago1:12:32

1:12:32

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Padraic Scanlan about the Irish famine. They provide an overview of the Irish famine, discuss the relationship between Ireland and Britain and how British colonialism impacted the Irish famine. They talk about potatoes in Ireland, formation of the United Kingdom, variables leading up to the Irish famine, potato blight, exiting the famine, generational impact, and many more topics. Padraic Scanlan is Associate Professor at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, cross-appointed to the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. He is also a Research Associate at the Center for History and Economics at Harvard University and the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of St. Michael’s College. He has his BA in history from McGill University and PhD in history from Princeton University. His research focuses on the history of labor, enslaved and free, in Britain and the British empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He is the author of the latest book, Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#426 - A History of Free Speech: A Dialogue with Jacob Mchangama 1:42:19

16 days ago1:42:19

1:42:19

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jacob Mchangama about the history of free speech. They discuss free speech in Europe, defining free speech, limits of free speech and ethics of free speech. They also talk about the free speech recession, origins of free speech, Athenian and Roman empires, Abbasid Caliphate, ancient India, printing press and enlightenment, John Stuart Mill, free speech in the 21st century, and many more topics. Jacob Mchangama is the founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Jacob has written and commented extensively on free speech and human rights in international media outlets including the Economist, L.A. Times, Washington Post, BBC, CBS News, NPR, CNN, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, Politico as well as top-tier academic and peer-reviewed journals. Jacob is the producer and narrator of the podcast, Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech and author of the critically acclaimed book, Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#425 - What Russians Believe About Russia: A Dialogue with Paul Chaisty & Stephen Whitefield 1:30:35

20 days ago1:30:35

1:30:35

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul Chaisty and Stephen Whitefield about public opinion in Russia. They discuss Russia’s transformation since the fall of the Soviet Union, Consolidation and contestation within Russia’s hybrid political economy, and generational changes under Putin. They talk about authoritarianism, collecting public data in Russia, changes in Russian public opinion, social media, propaganda, how Russians vote, identity, Russia-Ukraine war, post-Putin Russia, and many other topics. Paul Chaisty is professor of Russian and East European politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations, the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies and St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He is the author of Legislative Politics and Economic Power in Russia and the coauthor of Coalitional Presidentialism in Comparative Perspective: Minority Presidents in Multiparty Systems . Stephen Whitefield is professor of comparative Russian and East European politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations and fellow in politics at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. He is the author of Industrial Power and the Soviet State and coauthor of The Strain of Representation: How Political Parties Represent Diverse Voters in Western and Eastern Europe . Both Paul and Stephen are co-authors of the book, How Russians Understand the New Russia: Consolidation and Contestation . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#424 - Reforming Our Institutions: A Dialogue with Yuval Levin 1:10:13

23 days ago1:10:13

1:10:13

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yuval Levin about the importance of reforming our institutions. They discuss why institutions are important, individuals and institutions, slow change with institutions, and the mistrust and dislike of institutions. They also make the case for elites, building broad political coalitions, Trump’s 2nd first 100 days, reforming journalism, family in the 21st century, and many more topics. Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founder and editor of National Affairs , he is also a senior editor at The New Atlantis , a contributing editor at National Review , and a contributing opinion writer at New York Times . He has his MA and PhD from the committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. Dr. Levin served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush. He was also executive director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels. In addition to being interviewed frequently on radio and television, Dr. Levin has published essays and articles in numerous publications, including Wall Street Journal , Washington Post , The Atlantic , and Commentary . He is the author of several books on political theory and public policy, including the title, A Time to Build . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#423 - Changing Personality: A Dialogue with Olga Khazan 59:46

27 days ago59:46

59:46

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Olga Khazan on whether one could change their personality. They discuss why someone would want to change their personality, constancy over the lifespan, and why she used the BIG-5. They talk about extroversion and connection, neuroticism and mindfulness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness, values, and many more topics. Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic . Prior to that, she was The Atlantic’s Global editor. She has also written for the New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , the Washington Post, Forbes , and other publications. She is the author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change and Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#422 - The Power of Behavioral Genetics: A Dialogue with Robert Plomin 1:45:08

30 days ago1:45:08

1:45:08

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Robert Plomin on behavioral genetics. They discuss why behavioral genetics has explanatory power, heritability, genetics and psychological research, SNPs, GWAS, and epigenetics. They also talk about shared and non-shared environments, twin models and adoption models, heritability and cognitive abilities, heritability and personality, psychopathology, and many other topics. Robert Plomin is MRC Research Professor in Behavioral Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. He helped launch the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, which brings together genetic and environmental strategies to understand individual differences in behavioral development. In 1995, Professor Plomin began the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), which has followed 10,000 pairs of UK twins from infancy through early adulthood and has been continuously funded for 25 years as a program grant from the Medical Research Council. He was the youngest elected President of the international Behavior Genetics Association and has received lifetime research achievement awards from the major associations related to his field (Behavior Genetics Association, Association of Psychological Science, Society for Research in Child Development, International Society for Intelligence Research), as well as being made Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, British Academy, American Academy of Political and Social Science, and Academy of Medical Sciences (UK). He has published more than 800 papers and is the author of the best-selling textbook in the field as well as a dozen other books, including, Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#421 - Beauty and the gods: A Dialogue with Hugo Shakeshaft 1:04:36

5 weeks ago1:04:36

1:04:36

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hugo Shakeshaft about ancient greeks ideas about beauty and the gods. They discuss beauty in ancient Greece and its impact on modern times, architecture and beauty, beauty and aesthetics, and the gods and beauty. They talk about the relationship between humans and the gods, superficial and deeper beauty, beauty and nature, beauty as power, role of religion, and many more topics. Hugo Shakeshaft is a classicist, art historian, and artist. He is a specialist in the cultural history of ancient Greece and its legacy. His research ranges across ancient literature, history, philosophy, art, and archaeology. At the heart of his work is a fascination with aesthetics, with how people in antiquity perceived the world. The place of beauty in ancient Greek culture has been a focus of his research to date. He has a degree in Classics from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. After a year at Harvard as a Herchel Smith Scholar, he completed a Masters in Classical Archaeology and then a doctorate in Ancient History at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. Since 2018 he has held research fellowships at Christ Church College, Oxford, and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence. He is currently A.W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. He is the author of the book, Beauty and the Gods: A History from Homer to Plato . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#420 - Translating Homer's The Odyssey: A Dialogue with Daniel Mendelsohn 1:20:52

5 weeks ago1:20:52

1:20:52

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daniel Mendelsohn on his new English translation of Homer’s The Odyssey. They discuss the massive impact of The Odyssey, major themes in the Odyssey, authorship, and translation for our time. They talk about the lines and meter of the Odyssey in English, oral to written form, adapting the Odyssey, relevance for the 21st century, and many more topics. Daniel Mendelsohn is an internationally bestselling author, critic, essayist, and translator. He is a professor of literature at Bard College. He has degrees in Classics from the University of Virginia and Princeton. He has been a prolific contributor of essays, reviews, and articles in many publications, most frequently The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books . He has also been a contributing editor at Travel + Leisure and a columnist for The New York Times Book Review , Harper’s , and New York magazine, where he was the weekly book critic. In February 2019, he was named Editor-at-Large of the New York Review of Books and the Director of the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, a charitable trust that supports writers of nonfiction, essay, and criticism. He has received many honors including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Harry Vursell Prize for Prose Style, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, the NBCC Citation for Excellence in Book Reviewing, the George Jean Nathan Prize for Drama Criticism, and Princeton University’s James Madison Medal. In 2022, he was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France, and received the Premio Malaparte, Italy’s highest honor for foreign writers. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Association. He is also the author of many books including the new translation of, Homer’s The Odyssey . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#419 - Resisting Groupthink, Embracing Nuance: A Dialogue with Jenara Nerenberg 1:23:04

6 weeks ago1:23:04

1:23:04

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jenara Nerenberg about the importance of nuance thinking and healthy dialogue with others. They discuss self-censoring, groupthink, rise of gurus, podcasters, and influencer culture. They also talk about heterodox thinking, ethics of speaking to a larger audience, healthy dialogue with others, and many other topics. Jenara Nerenberg is a journalist, author, and founder of The Neurodiversity Project. She has interdisciplinary training from Harvard in public health, business, and government. She is the author of the latest book, Trust Your Mind: Embracing Nuance in a World of Self-silencing. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#418 - Sex Is A Spectrum: A Dialogue with Agustín Fuentes 1:26:36

6 weeks ago1:26:36

1:26:36

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Agustín Fuentes about biological sex. They talk about the history of sex evolution, the importance of gametes, intersex individuals, and history of sex binary. They talk about gonads and hormones, sex variation in the animal kingdom, spectrum question, gender, gender and sports, gender and bathrooms, and many other topics. Agustín Fuentes is an anthropologist and professor of anthropology at Princeton University. His research focuses on the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. He has his BA/BS in Anthropology and Zoology and his MA and PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley. He has conducted research across four continents, multiple species, and two-million years of human history. His current projects include exploring cooperation, creativity, and belief in human evolution, multispecies anthropologies, evolutionary theory and processes, and engaging race and racism. Fuentes is an active public scientist, a well-known blogger, lecturer, tweeter, and an explorer for National Geographic. Fuentes was recently awarded the Inaugural Communication & Outreach Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the President’s Award from the American Anthropological Association, and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, Sex Is A Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#417 - The Golden Road: Ancient India and the World: A Dialogue with William Dalrymple 58:56

7 weeks ago58:56

58:56

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Dalrymple about India and the Golden Road. They define the Golden Road of ancient India, discuss evidence other cultures interacted with India, and discuss the spread of Buddhism out of India. They talk about similarities and differences with the Silk Road, Kushans and Scythians, Hinduism, Islam, the Golden Road’s impact on modern India, and many more topics. William Dalrymple is a Historian, Journalist, and Broadcaster. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and has held visiting fellowships at Princeton, Brown and Oxford. In 2018, he was the recipient of the prestigious President’s Medal by the British Academy for his outstanding literary achievement. He is the author of numerous award-winning books including, The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire and his latest book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World . Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe…

1
#416 - A New History of the Americas: A Dialogue with Greg Grandin 1:20:49

8 weeks ago1:20:49